Choosing Bravery
by slightlysmall
Summary: Hugo got his wish, and the Sorting Hat has placed him in Gryffindor. But his excitement doesn't last long as his dorm mates call him Hugo the Hufflepuff and tease him incessantly. When he finally tells his sister, she knows exactly who he should talk to. Sequel to Forging Bravery, but makes sense on its own.


For the Male Appreciation Challenge and the Snakes and Ladders Challenge with the character Hugo.

For the Song Fic Boot Camp with the song "One Fine Wire" by Colbie Caillat and the prompt "dorm."

* * *

Hugo thought his biggest task as a first year would be convincing the Sorting Hat that he belonged in Gryffindor. But the hat listened and negotiated and eventually shouted; Hugo moved to the table he had always wanted to be at and his sister sent him a grin from her place at the Ravenclaw table. That evening, he celebrated with his cousins and all his new housemates and felt like he belonged.

But the feeling didn't last long. As they got to know one another, Hugo realized he wasn't loud or boisterous, preferring to get lost inside his own head, be by himself. "Hey Hufflepuff!" one of his fellow first-years called. "Hugo the Hufflepuff, in Gryffindor just because he's a Weasley." another added. During Potions, where there were an odd number of students, he was always forced to work alone.

Hugo felt like he was balancing on a wire with Hufflepuff on one end and Gryffindor on the other, but it was frayed at both ends and he was slowly unraveling with it. He needed to make a choice soon. So early in the term, McGonagall was sure to understand, let him transfer to Hufflepuff where he knew he belonged. On the first Saturday of term, Hugo went down to breakfast but found his sister rather than sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Hugo? What are you doing over here?"

"It's just that, well, I don't have any friends. They all keep calling me Hugo the Hufflepuff. I don't know how to get out of it. Except... except to talk to the Headmistress and tell her I've made a mistake."

Rose looked around at her friends, a question in her eye. Each of them nodded and she smiled in return. "Finish your breakfast, Hugo. We have a visit to make?"

"We do?" Hugo asked, his mouth full.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," she chided. "But yes, we do." The pair got up and Rose directed him toward the front doors. "Why didn't you tell me before that it was so bad there?"

"I didn't want to worry you. You knew how much I wanted to be in Gryffindor. You told me you had faith in me to be brave. But now I know I'm not good enough. I didn't want you to know, Rosie."

"Hugo, you know you can tell me anything. And I'm glad you did, too."

"Where are we going?"

"To the greenhouses." They walked in silence until Rose knocked on one of the doors.

"How do you know he's in this one?"

Rose shrugged. "It's his favorite."

"Rose? Great to see you! And Hugo, too! What brings you here on a Saturday morning?"

"Well, Hugo just told me that he's planning on talking to the Headmistress today to switch houses. He thinks - at least, his classmates keep telling him - that he belongs in Hufflepuff. I thought, well, I thought he should talk to you first."

"How did you know?"

"Mum told me," Rose said, smiling. "Anyway, Hugo, I'll talk to you later."

Neville looked at Hugo and smiled. "Why don't you come in? I'm just organizing the plant food for now. Sit down and let me know what's going on."

Hugo sighed. "I just wanted to be in Gryffindor, to prove I could be brave like all my cousins. The Sorting Hat let me go, but, well, everyone there calls me Hugo the Hufflepuff. They don't think I belong. Life plays such silly games sometimes, you know, inside my head. Like trying to convince myself that I was Gryffindor. I was wrong. I need to tell McGonagall so she'll put me in Hufflepuff."

"If you choose to go, you've made the right decision. If you choose to stay, you've also made the right decision," Neville told him as he set about putting away plant food.

"What do you mean?"

"If you decide your loyalty is with Hufflepuff, you've shown yourself to be loyal and hardworking just by going through the process of getting there. If, on the other hand, you decide to stay, you've shown your bravery just by choosing to remain in a house whose expectations you find daunting."

"Thanks, Professor Longbottom," Hugo said. He was feeling better, but he didn't yet know which one to choose, so he lingered at the greenhouses a little longer.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Neville asked.

"Er-"

"It's okay. It's nothing scary. It's just something I haven't told anyone in awhile. But your Mum knew."

Hugo nodded. "Okay."

"See, when I was eleven and waiting to be sorted, I begged the Sorting Hat to put me in Hufflepuff."

"You did?"

"I did," Neville said solemnly.

"But... you were Gryffindor with my parents."

"Yes I was. The Sorting Hat wouldn't listen, and insisted I belonged in Gryffindor. I hated it, at first."

"Professor! You have an Order of Merlin, First Class! For bravery during the Battle of Hogwarts!"

Neville smiled. "If you would have told that to me when I was your age, I would've laughed and asked what sort of delusion you were having. But think about something, Hugo. The Sorting Hat refused to put me in Hufflepuff, where I wanted to be more than anything. The Sorting Hat did not refuse your request to put you in Gryffindor. Remember, being brave isn't about being fearless. And when you are much older, I think you'll see that you belonged."

Hugo walked back to the castle, juggling the thoughts in his head. He knew he had two choices, just then: talk to Professor McGonagall about the potential to switch houses, or go back to Gryffindor Tower and teach himself to be brave.

He marched straight up the stairs to the tower, gave the password, and sat down on his bed in his dorm. "Hey Hugo the Hufflepuff, where've you been?"

"Learning what it means to be brave."


End file.
